


Pause? [[Continue?]]

by oleanderedits



Series: The Walking Dead Character Studies [2]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV), The Walking Dead - All Media Types
Genre: Character Study, Gen, stream of thought
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-20
Updated: 2015-09-20
Packaged: 2018-04-22 13:47:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4837535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oleanderedits/pseuds/oleanderedits
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He wasn't doing it to get the high score. He was doing it to see how far he could go on the only life he had left.<br/>(Season 1 Centric)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pause? [[Continue?]]

-

He hovered (that was the word for it right? when someone was just kind of standing in one spot but not really standing still and waiting for something to happen or someone to turn around) at the corner, back not quite pressed against the wall. There were enemies he had to get past or destroy. Four close and five more further down, past the two overturned cars that had plowed into each other at the intersection a half block down. The cars could be cover if there weren't monsters hidden behind them. 

But that still left half a block of open space and nine enemies to get past. Their detection radius was line of sight and more sensitive than any other system ever. If he made a run for it, he'd have to find a way to lose them. Or he'd have to fight them and risk drawing attention from any sentinals past the intersection he was trying to get to. His only other option was to go around.

Glenn didn't know this part of the map. He hadn't filled it out yet. New territory and he was still learning all the hidden locations. He'd seen the corner drug store in the distance as the visual haze parted and decided he wanted to discover that. It was the most likely to hold the quest items he was looking for.

Once he got there, though, he'd have to deal with whatever might be inside. There wasn't a lot of variety in the enemies sure, but the environment hazards made what mobs there were all that more dangerous. And that was assuming the ones he could see and count were the only ones in the area. There were two corners he couldn't see past. Two sides of a street that could be just as filled (or more!) as the one he was looking down.

He took a deep breath and flattened himself against the wall. A straight run wasn't something he could risk. He had the stamina and speed, but he didn't have the health or strength needed for that kind of approach. Stealth was more his thing. It had kept him alive this long, longer than he'd expected with the levels getting harder and harder. He needed to stick to it.

Go around it was.

Glenn headed back the way he came and down the alley he'd originally thought to avoid. A fire escape hung off the wall about halfway through. The bottom of the ladder wasn't down, but he could make that jump if he ran up against the wall. "They really need a double jump feature," he muttered to himself after he got it down and started to climb.

The roofs were clear and Glenn had a much better view of what he was dealing with once he was up there, crouched at the corner. He had had to jump the gap between the building he climbed and the one he was now on, but it wasn't that bad of a jump. Six feet wasn't difficult with a running start. His health was a little low from it though. He'd taken a hit from the landing but he was out of medical kits and didn't have the time to rest. He'd just have to deal with-

[[PAUSE?]] CONTINUE?

"Not a game."

The words came from his throat and he slumped on the roof, hidden from view by the short wall he leaned against, tucked away in the roof corner. He gulped hard, took a deep breath.

"Not a game."

Something he had to remind himself, much as he hated to. Thinking of it as just another run through  _Portal_ or  _Left for Dead_ made it easier in a lot of ways. He could detach himself from it. Organize his inventory, his goals, his strategy on every run. No escort quests, just his own life at risk. It dulled the pain, kept the reality at bay.

"Not a game."

He took another deep breath and ran his hands down his leg, checking how sore it was, if it hurt more than it should at any point. That sort of thing could get him killed - actually, really,  _not a game_ killed - if he wasn't careful. It was moments like this that he had to pull his head out of his mental scenario. He had to force himself not to get lost in it. People were counting on him and that was worth living for. That was the goal at the end of the day. His own life, sure, he didn't care about it so much anymore. But there were other lives, other  _people_ who wouldn't survive this if he didn't make these runs. They weren't part of the game.

Glenn let himself sit there for several minutes after he checked his leg. Nothing was off. He was just sore. His health wasn't as low as he thought it was. He didn't need a med kit or a real rest. He was good.

His eyes shut and he pushed himself up, turning to check the geeks on the street. His goal was the drug store now catercorner to his hiding spot. There was better cover on the eastern approach, but the western had another fire escape he could see, leading to the roof of the building immediately next to the one he wanted. The drug store's two-story set up had a roof access door. There were probably geeks inside, but he could deal with them easier with a one-at-a-time choke point than out on the open street.

He could do this.

PAUSE? [[CONTINUE?]]


End file.
